I think one of the main problems here is that the Stones waited 8 years to put out a release. Had there been a build up of excitement as if it were a reunion or something like that the attention might have been more. But these guys have been working on various projects during the last 8 years so it's not like they were no more. They've been in the spotlight with no new product and the collections that theyhave put out do not really count.
Also, I think there is a new crop of media that is too young to appreciate the STones. Some were just toddlers when the 81/82 tours were going on. These people can appreciate Jim Morrison and Hendrix more because they have become mythical creatures of rock legend and the Stones are still here... getting older. You can't get old in rock and roll.
Another reason could be that the majority of the people out there do not expect any new product from the Stones. They have paid their dues, they have already shown how great they are long ago. It is not that the Stones have stopped selling records it is that there is so much for anyone getting into them to choose from. How many of you out there got into the Stones from buying a new release or from listening to a classic album like LET IT BLEED or STICKY FINGERS? The Stones are their worst enemy. They have been too good for too long.

Is there nothing between a big flop and a number one? I mean is it the end of the world if you don't make it to the number one spot on the POP charts?

I remember Frank Zappa had to say "Excuse me it was never my intention to make a hit record" when "Bobby Brown" made it to number one in the US charts.

Is the total value in life all about making it to the top of the charts?

Bjornulf

No backlash in the US towards the Band/album because of Neo-Con.

Milo, NYC
My feet are hurtin'

cuz it blows..except laugh i nearly died

Bv wrote: "This is nothing about the States but it is the Stones in general."

I can't agree. Look at the facts and the numbers. ABB sells very well in the rest of the planet. So IS SOMETHING about the States.

I think this post has more to do with the collective relavancy of you folks than the Stones. Huge sales would reinforce the idea that the Stones are still vital, interesting, and contributing some how to this cro magnon idea of rock n roll as personal savior.







"40 pounds of headlines stapled to my chest"

I think it has to do somewhere with the ticket prices. Had the Stones wished to perform in Stadiums, which implies dropping the ticket prices by half, they would have surely attract new audiences which effectively are record buyers. More than older generations. I think this situation can be translated to Europe, I mean had the Stones release their album at the same time as the beginning of the Tour, the sales would have been at the same level as in the US.
Yes, I do care that the Stones reach # 1 position in the charts with such a great album. Their best since Some girls. Proof of the quality of ABB is that there is no unanimity about the best songs. And moreover, I dreamed that the opportunity to embrace new buyers have been missed. As I had Satisfaction, others Start Me Up or Angie,I would have hoped that the new generations would have had in their musical neighborhood :ONNYA or SOL

Odd-beat Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

. My own little empirical theory is
> that music is bad for today's industry and
> consumerism. The other day at the grocery store,
> someone by mistake had programmed a radio station
> or muzak station or whatever where some forgotten
> gem by the Doobie Bros started playing (in place
> of let's say Celine Dion). All of a sudden my wife
> and I had forgotten all about the lousy day at the
> job, hummed along in the aisles, OMITTING TO PICK
> ABOUT HALF THE STUFF WE WOULD HAVE NORMALLY
> BOUGHT!! We got the same feeling out of this, all
> of a sudden became young bohemian-like lazy and
> neglectful consumers again... That's BAD for the
> market!!

That's interesting, I've had the opposite feeling. Let me explain: when I was younger I worked in a grocery store that played muzak all day everyday, with the worst kind of "arrangements" of the schmaltziest songs that only got worse when they butchered a real song. I worked night crew and would bring in my bigbox blaster and hook it up to the PA system so that at least me and my nightcrew buddies could listen to some decent tunes while we worked and not have to put up with the muzak crap.
. . .
Now twenty years I laugh when I find myself in a grocery store and they're playing the same tunes (by the original artists) that I use to have to "sneek" in with my big box. I think it's simply a matter of playing the music that appeals to the consumers in the store. I'm much more likely to return to the grocery store that plays CCR, The Stones, Dylan, etc, than the store that still plays musak crap.

Cheers,

c88

You folks who say the Stones' marketing is bad are crazy! They're on soap operas, they're on Monday Night football, they're in the USA Today, they're at the Super Bowl, they're ruining the grass at Fenway Park, their ex-wife has a reality show, Mick's girlfriend is telling Keith to quit smoking, Jann Wenner is again sucking their pee-pees, Mercedes-Benz is running full page ads, for chrissakes Maxim has an interview with Mick. What do you want, a Keith shoe by Nike?

They're old (so probably are you). If you want to sell something in America today, you must have 1) TnA 2)young TnA, or 3)pre-pubescent TnA. Oh, or 4)semi-automatic guns. Since Bill Clinton, even bjs are passe. Radio has forsaken George Jones and Merle Haggard. Their jeans aren't tight enough, and they don't wear hats. You expect great RnR to sell in this market?

I don't think the Stones market are Bush supporters for the most part so I'd have to say that has no impact on cd sales, Second, for 85% of the female audience, the Stones still have tons of sex appeal, obvious by the bras and panties that fly by me on the way to the B-Stage. Third, I agree, the fact that you can so easily download cd's now makes buying it a waste. I DID Buy it because I want it to SELL but younger fans simply download. The only good point is about the CRAP that DOES SELL. It's true, the young cd buyer purchase garbage! Rap and Hip Hop and just plain junk!I think I know alot about music until I look at the Billboard charts and I don't know WHO these artists are! And YES, Virgin did a really BAD JOB marketing and promoting this cd! I still don't know WHY songs like Rough Justice disappeared completely from the rotations at rock stations! And WHY is there NOT a second single released, NOW!? I don't care if it's SOL( which I do lOVE) or Back of My Hand, Or Drive Too Fast, RELEASE ANOTHER SINGLE, and then a third! If it's not on the radio, it does not sell!

debra, i can't believe i'm saying this , but i AGREE with every word u said. they didn't promote this album properly and there's no buzz about it(except by the real fans). i also look at the charts and think" who the hell are the top ten" i don't know 1 song by alot of the "popular" artists(i use that term loosely)

Debra says "I don't think the Stones market are Bush supporters for the most part so I'd have to say that has no impact on cd sales"

Of course the Stones market aren't Bush supporters (fortunately!) and i am truly happy for the lyrics of "Neo-con". Don't take me wrong. But i think the song has a bit to do with the poor airplay, especially on the radios of the Clear Channel Communications.

KSIE says "You folks who say the Stones' marketing is bad are crazy! They're on soap operas, they're on Monday Night football, they're in the USA Today, they're at the Super Bowl".
So what KSIE? If we see the first video coming out so late, yes, the marketing is bad. There are some simple but basic rules for a decent marketing.

But, i repeat, LOOK AT THE WORLDWIDE ABB'S SALES. THEY ARE STRONG. The Stones are selling better worldwide than a lot of new famous bands which have strong base of teenagers, like Franz Ferdinard or Him. The Stones are selling much better than famous bands of 80s, like Simple Minds or than other legendary "veteran" (i hate this word!) acts like Macca, Dylan, Clapton. Even in the US, ABB perhaps will sell better than the last Pearl Jam's record and for sure 4 "scales" better than the last album of Oasis. So...

The Stones don't seem to woried about
chart positions anymore, why are we?

stickydion Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Debra says "I don't think the Stones market are
> Bush supporters for the most part so I'd have to
> say that has no impact on cd sales"
>
> Of course the Stones market aren't Bush supporters
> (fortunately!) and i am truly happy for the lyrics
> of "Neo-con". Don't take me wrong. But i think the
> song has a bit to do with the poor airplay,
> especially on the radios of the Clear Channel
> Communications.
>
> KSIE says "You folks who say the Stones' marketing
> is bad are crazy! They're on soap operas, they're
> on Monday Night football, they're in the USA
> Today, they're at the Super Bowl".
> So what KSIE? If we see the first video coming out
> so late, yes, the marketing is bad. There are some
> simple but basic rules for a decent marketing.

C'mon sticky, how many more discs would they have sold if their video came out 3 weeks earlier? The Stones have done a major media push, made multiple sponsor connections, linked their fan club to their ticket sales (where there has been lots of video and other promos), put the tunes on the web site, sold the album on a flashcard, played live before a network NFL game, did a press conference with live tunes in NYC, etc. etc. etc. Their disc-selling machine has been in high gear.

Karl

I think the Stones care about sales, as a fingure of their popularity.

I do think also they care about sales. Evenmore after 8 yearse of absence of new record and so much investment in this album, especially by Mick, Keith and Chawlie rehearsing in France'Jagger real estate for weeks. If you play for the most only in Arenas, you do not attract many buyers, soaked thru by high ticket prices

"C'mon sticky, how many more discs would they have sold if their video came out 3 weeks earlier?"

Perhaps many more,KSIE! Don't forget, a huge number of people who are interested in the music, including rock, very often look at music TV or at the music zones of the TV. This is making a good atmosphere: "Oh, the Stones are back". Sturbacks, network NFL game or other connections could be only good additional, supplementary receipts in my opinion. Not the basic motions.